Lauren

There were times when Lauren Evans wished her life could go back to what it had been when she was a quiet, demure, submissive fox shifter and had only to worry about pleasing the alpha of their skulk… SNORT! Who was she kidding? She’d hated that life. So much so that she’d broken with tradition, the Ruling Council and everything else she’d ever known. She had thought to be a female Robin Hood or a pirate queen. Instead, she had allowed herself to be turned by the sexiest Florida panther-shifter that ever walked the face of the earth.

She might not be a pirate, but she was Jace’s queen, and they had a yacht—close enough to pirate queen to call it good. They had sailed out yesterday into international waters so that Jace could meet with Sandro Martínez, a man who was working against the cartels and the corrupt government of his country and trying to do a little good in the world.

He and Jace had done an arms deal shortly before Lauren met Jace. Sandro had asked Jace to see what he could find out about a federal detainee picked up in a raid off the Yucatan Peninsula. Jace had thought it would be easy enough to do but had been forced to put it on the sidelines when he and Lauren came together, and the Albanian mob had lost whatever little mind it ever had.

Now that Easy Street had opened and was a smashing success and the renovations and rehab of The Golden Reef were underway, Jace had been able to find out what had happened to Sandro’s friend Roberto Cueva.

Lauren was lounging on one of the chaises, soaking up the sun, her face turned toward the sky. She could feel Jace’s presence and hear his distinctive purr long before his giant frame blotted out the sun.

“Good morning, lover,” she purred.

Lauren found there were a lot of advantages to being a panther-shifter versus a fox-shifter. For one thing she was larger and stronger which was something she had taken advantage of during the past few months. But the best part was the ability to purr and to be able to reach out to her mate along the link that flowed between them. It wasn’t like they could read each other’s minds, but certainly they were in touch with each other’s emotions.

Jace leaned over from the back of the chase to kiss her. “Good morning, little one. I missed you when I got up this morning.”

“You did not. You needed to talk to Mitch and to check in with Sandro. Are we still on for our clandestine, high seas meeting? Although how you think sailing in this yacht could be covert is beyond me.”

He chuckled. “You do love all the subterfuge and trickery…”

“Of course,” she laughed. “I used to be a fox—stealthy and cunning.”

“Not to mention red haired and sassy as all get out.”

“How’s our guest?” she asked. “I left the two of you having cigars and beer last night.”

Jace laughed. “I’m not sure if this morning he will be dealing more with seasickness or being hungover.”

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Jace came around to perch on the edge of her chaise, the seductive purr filling her senses. One of the nice things about owning a yacht and having a crew meant that when they went out, they could focus on each other. It was so easy these days with running one exclusive casino, renovating another into a destination casino and getting a food truck built and stocked, to lose track of what was really important.

Fortunately, both of them were committed to each other first, their clan second and the businesses came in a distant third. He trailed his finger up the inside of her thigh, nudging them apart and untying one side of her bikini thong. Her entire body lit up like the fireworks over the Gulf of Mexico on the Fourth of July.

“I would remind you that we have a guest on board,” she tried to scold him, but found herself becoming far too aroused to care about such mundane things.

“I don’t care. What I care about is that you slipped out of our bed this morning before I had a chance to ravish you.”

Her laughter was cut off as he moved the next to nothing piece of fabric aside and circled her clit with his fingers. Lauren clutched at the arms of the chaise. His fingers worked their way down from her clit to her slit, before trailing back up to the bundle of nerves at the apex of her sex. He gave it a little tug as he watched the thin, triangular piece of fabric barely covering her breast tent as her nipple stiffened and she moaned.

“You’re not planning to fuck me here on the chaise, are you?”

“Heavens no. Our guest is all too human so the fact that you are wildly aroused, and your pheromones are incredibly enticing would be lost on him. I thought I’d wait until we’d concluded our transaction before taking you below to plunder your bounty.”

Heated pleasure surged through her system. No man had ever been able to evoke the feelings that he did, and she writhed beneath his touch. His mouth captured hers with confidence. He knew bloody well what he was doing with her. Jace really didn’t like having to wake up and not have her next to him… and payback was a bitch.

Persuasion, seduction, dominance, teasing, playing—they were all a part of the sexual energy that flowed between them. Jace made her feel like she was drunk on the finest champagne. His tongue slipped between her lips to tangle with hers as he slipped a finger inside her core. Her body rushed to the climax it knew was waiting there, only to be jerked back from the edge as his hand snapped against her pussy—not enough to be truly painful, but just enough to deny her the orgasm she was beginning to desperately need.

“Jace,” she mewled.

“What was your punishment for that last little bit of naughtiness you and the rest of our she-cats thought would be oh so funny, but was oh so not?”

She moaned and writhed, but he kept up his delicious torture.

“Answer me, Lauren.”

“I’m not allowed to come without your permission.”

“That’s right. And you want to come, don’t you little one.”

“Very much.”

He leaned down to kiss her again. “And I’d like not to be worried about you indulging in foolish, risky behavior whenever you feel you’re being left out.”

“You’re impossible,” she growled.

“No, little one, I am alpha, and you will behave.”

“Alpha,” said Leo from somewhere behind them. “Martínez’s boat is approaching.”

He kissed her lips with a hard, unspoken passion. “Time to make the exchange. You stay put and listen to Leo.”

***

Jace

Jace got up and headed to the side of the boat so that he was present when Sandro’s much smaller boat pulled alongside.

“You have a beautiful yacht, amigo.”

“Thank you. She was built during the Roaring Twenties and is as decadent today as she was back then.”

“Your message was fairly cryptic. I have to tell you I would not have come had it been anyone but you. The families of those you sent the money to were very grateful. So much so that they ensured their communities reaped the benefits of your largess as well.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’m sorry my message wasn’t as clear as it might have been. But I brought with me the merchandise you ordered.”

Sandro shook his head. “I have not ordered anything more from you. We do not have the money.”

“You have already paid.” Sandro looked at Jace in confusion. “You asked me to do you a favor. Favors are usually repaid in kind and there’s no telling when being owed a favor in your part of the world will come in handy.”

Sandro shook his head. “I am still at a loss…”

“Sandro? Sandro? Is that you? I didn’t know where they were taking me when they broke me out. I just knew it had to be better than where I was.”

Sandro looked up at Jace—disbelief, wonder and joy mixing in a myriad of emotions. Before Sandro could respond, his brother-in-law, Roberto Cueva, had him wrapped in his embrace.

“How?” Sandro managed to get out.

“It seems my wife and those she brought with her into our clans are quite adept at getting all kinds of things out of places they shouldn’t. This time when Lauren came up with her plan, I deemed we should.”

“Then I am indebted not only to you but to your beautiful wife as well.”

Jace nodded. “You better get on your way.” One of Jace’s crew handed Roberto a bag. “Just a few things we put together for you, including a small cooler with some of the microbrew you liked.”

Sandro helped Roberto over the side of the yacht and into his much smaller boat. “I am at a loss for words. We are both deeply indebted to you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Lauren was feeling restless. If she goes too long without some kind of heist, she starts to go into withdrawal.”

Lauren joined him, wearing one of his shirts as a cover-up, and wrapping her arm around his waist. They waved to the departing boat as they turned to head back inside.

“Have they opened your parting gift?” she asked.

“Not yet…”

A delighted cry of surprise and gratitude drifted back to them across the water.

Jace grinned down at her. “They have now.”